Pats 2nd Round #50 Pick -- Tyquan Thornton

If NE had selected the four guys that the Jets had picked thus far, would you be upset because they ranked high? It looks to me like a pretty good haul.
 


Not to take anything away from Ted Ginn but he's a better prospect than Ginn was - 3" taller, 10 lbs heavier and faster than Ginn's 4.37 40. Route running, hands and skill set are very similar.

The team has had issues with compressed fields for awhile, so the speed sounds nice, but more than that I'd like a WR who can consistently compete with tight man coverage and I'm not sure Thornton can do that at the moment. His feet look a little slow, a little heavy, not particularly light on his feet, doesn't have that effortless smoothness you hope to see, and doesn't seem efficient getting off the LOS and making cuts/breaks. His feet look choppy and not in a good way.

This feels similar to previous WR picks, like Jackson/Johnson/Harry -- a guy with some unique skill/talent, but not a well-rounded/polished WR to my eye. That's why if they went with a WR I wanted it to be Metchie; he is insanely polished, has phenomenal feet, knows the position well, can line up anywhere, and has the footwork/technique/savvy to destroy man coverage.

Maybe others see him as a more polished and developed WR. I'll watch more and hopefully come around on the guy.

Meh ..

I think Thornton may be a better player than you're thinking. One of my comps for Thornton is actually Jameson Williams. Every time I watched Thornton he looked like a carbon copy of Jameson Williams on the field. Another comp is Moss (I'm not saying he'll turn out like Moss) and another is Robbie Anderson the player Lazar comps him with. I wanted Anderson when the Panthers picked him up.

His release is plenty good enough. His second gear is fast; his top gear is outstanding. Long-striding glider (Moss). Very natural. He was held back by QB play in his final season at Baylor and still had 7 catches over 40 yds. Natural hands and quick to tuck the ball. Plucks the ball away from his frame. Tracks it beautifully over his shoulder. Boundary aware. The deep speed is real, his track speed and his play speed are the same and should translate well to the NFL.

He's not a contested-catch guy but with his speed he should be able to create good separation. Thrown open, the guy is a threat from anywhere on the field. No DB will catch him from behind. He needs some polish, as you said, but every college WR needs fine tuning for the NFL. He can have good impact early by running go routes and slants off of go routes which is no different than Cooks or Agholor.
 
I would've liked it in the 4th round. It's like someone is whispering to BB, "Hey, if you don't select this 3th round guard in the 1st, he'll be gone!" "If you don't draft this 4th round WR in the 2nd, he'll be gone soon!" Even though three higher ranked WRs were taken just after the pick.

It isn't the players, it is when they are taken. At some point, the blinders need to come off.
Yup...this has already been addressed. Yer preaching to the choir here.
 
Oh, shit. I get it now.

I stumbled across this interview he did at the Shrine Bowl earlier this year. First couple minutes in, I'm not particularly impressed, but in fairness the interviewer asked some lame, non-football related questions (at least non-specific football questions), and Tyquan seemed a bit nervous/uncomfortable being interviewed (which I don't hold against anyone).

Interviewer finally asks a football question, 'what was the biggest part of the game that you learned transitioning from high school to college?', and then it all reveals itself. Tyquan loosens up slightly and discusses how learning to read coverages and understanding how DBs are attempting to stop him was the biggest part he had to learn in college. And then a follow-up question about what keys he's learned to read in DBs, and Tyquan says how a CB with his butt towards the boundary probably means cover-2. It's capped off with Tyquan discussing how he brings the heat blocking every single damn play, giving the DBs hell. I'm with fine this guy. He seems to understand football pretty well and have a good mind.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R6XgHBMelI
 
Agree on that. But were these picks made by the Jets, I imagine that Boston talk radio would be having a heck of a time. It will always take 2-3 years to know for sure.
It takes 2-3 years to know whether they bust. You can know they succeed much earlier.
 
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